Kimberly Garrison: Think you're a size 4? A 10? Think again

THE COMMODORES' 1977 megahit "Brick House" was a fun song about a woman with a banging body. You know, the proverbial 36-24-36. Apparently, that was once the measurement women aspired to have and men found most attractive.

My dad told me the song title was taken from the phrase "built like a brick sh- -house," considered the highest compliment about a woman's figure, at least in the African-American community.

Anyway, fast-forward 32 years. These days, 36 inches is the waist measurement, not the hip circumference, for many, if not most American women.

A Size USA survey published in the New York Times revealed some interesting data on our expanding chest, waist and hip stats. For women ages 36 to 45, the results were:

Black: 43-37-46.

Hispanic: 42 1/2-36-44.

Asian: 41-35-43.

White: 41-34-43.

For sure, there are no "perfect" measurements. However, there are healthy measurements, and we are far from that.

Your waist and hip ratio is as important as your weight in gauging health and fitness. The larger your waist, the larger your risk for preventable diseases such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and some cancers.

Calculate your waist-to-hip ratio by dividing your waist measurement by your hip measurement. Women should strive for a waist-to-hip ratio of 0.8 or less; for men, the ideal is 0.95 or less.

As for that brick-house babe? She had a waist-to-hip ratio of .6666.

And while we're on the subject, remember that American clothing sizes are no measure of anything. Manufacturers have been nudging up basic size specifications so you can still feel good about being a size 10 - even if that would have been a 16 or more back in the "Brick House" day.

Vanity sizing is just more hocus-pocus designed to falsely flatter you. It's why my mother-in-law wears the same size she did when she graduated from high school, even though she's 40 pounds heavier.

When I worked in retail many moons ago, a size 4 was a 24-inch waist; 6 was a 26-inch waist; 8 was a 28-inch waist and 10 was a 30.

I'll give you just one guess what the waist measurement range is for that much-maligned size 0. Give up? Most size 0's have a waist measurement between 23 and 25 inches.

Don't believe me? Then I suggest you go shopping in your local retro clothing store and see how you measure up. Talk about sticker shock. Yikes!

All kidding aside, monitoring your body shape is a very important factor in managing your healthy lifestyle. And there's just one way to do it: Get out the measuring tape.

Kimberly Garrison is a certified personal trainer and owner of One on One Ultimate Fitness in Philadelphia (www.1on1ultimatefitness.com). E-mail her at

kimberly@1on1ultimatefitness.com. Her column appears each Thursday in Yo!